Various settings information of a device may be input, updated, viewed or used remotely by a device setting apparatus through a network. For example, as described in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-7095, the device setting apparatus may display a web page provided by the device subjected for setting operation on its display to allow the user to set various settings information for the device subjected for setting operation.
In order to prevent settings information from being taken or altered by an unauthorized third party as it is transferred through the open network, it is recommended to use a technique that establishes secure communication between the device setting apparatus and the device subjected for setting operation.
For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a device setting apparatus 101 may send a secure communication request to an apparatus (“the counterpart apparatus”) 102 subjected for setting operation. FIG. 1A illustrates an example case in which the device setting apparatus 101 and the counterpart apparatus 102 communicate in plaintext using the HTTP to perform a user request (“u”). FIG. 1B illustrates an example case in which the device setting apparatus 101 and the counterpart apparatus 102 communicate in encrypted form using the HTTPS to perform a user request (“u”).
Referring to FIG. 1A, at S11, the device setting apparatus 101 sends a secure communication request to the counterpart apparatus 102 using the HTTP protocol with the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), or the HTTPS. At S12, the counterpart apparatus 102 returns the “NG” response indicating that the secure communication is not available. The device setting apparatus 100 sends the user request for setting a plurality of parameter values to the counterpart apparatus 102 in plaintext using the HTTP, for example, at S13 and S15. The counterpart apparatus 102 returns the response in response to the user request in plaintext using the HTTP, for example, at S14 and S16. In this case of FIG. 1A, various information communicated through the network may be leaked to the third party. For example, if the administrator's password is sent through the network, such information may be stolen.
Referring to FIG. 1B, at S21, the device setting apparatus 101 sends a secure communication request to the counterpart apparatus 102 using the HTTPS. At S22, the counterpart apparatus 102 returns the “OK” response indicating that the secure communication is available. The device setting apparatus 100 sends the user request for setting a plurality of parameter values to the counterpart apparatus 102 in encrypted form using the HTTPS, for example, at S23 and S25. The counterpart apparatus 102 returns the response in response to the user request in encrypted form using the HTTPS, for example, at S24 and S26. In this case of FIG. 1B, information exchanged between the device setting apparatus 101 and the counterpart apparatus 102 is protected from the third party.
While the use of secure communication such as the use of SSL protocol protects the information from being taken or altered, the secure communication of FIG. 1B can be performed only when the counterpart apparatus 102 is previously installed with information required to perform the secure communication such as a certificate in the case of SSL. More specifically, in order to cause the counterpart apparatus 102 of FIG. 1A to be able to communicate via SSL, an administrator is required to manually install a certificate onto the counterpart apparatus 102. This was cumbersome especially when there is a need for setting a large number of counterpart apparatuses 102. Further, a type of certificate may differ among the devices such that manually installing a certificate specific to each device has been cumbersome.